$135M Redesign Planned For City Bus System

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Governor Hogan's ambitious plan to improve Baltimore transit is getting mixed reviews.

Pat Warren has more on the $135 million project to revamp the city's bus system.

It sounds like a good idea, and it has the support of some city leaders, but not others.

The Maryland Department of Transportation has a plan to replace city bus routes that haven't changed since the 1950s.

"What an awesome day to kick off a terrific plan to blow up and replace the transit system of Baltimore," said Pete Rahn, Maryland Transportation Secretary.

The big reveal is a $135 million interconnecting transit system known as BaltimoreLink, connecting Baltimore residents to all these jobs.

"The plan that Governor Hogan is unveiling is a great step toward providing Baltimore with a first class bus system capable of moving our residents to job opportunities," said Jack Young, Baltimore City Council President.

"We want to be a first class city. Investment is essential. Working with state government is important," said Senator Catherine Pugh, (D) Baltimore.

But Mayor Rawlings-Blake issued a statement, saying Governor Hogan's plan falls short of revolutionizing transportation across our critical east-west corridor, as would have happened with the Red Line.

The proposed east-west rail line, connecting Woodlawn to Johns Hopkins Bayview, has been derailed by the Hogan administration.

"There's no comparison between the Red Line and what we're talking about. This is transformative, and that was going to do almost nothing and was never going to happen," said Governor Hogan.

Maryland Democratic Party Executive Pat Murray says the Red Line would have been a $1 billion federal investment in regional mass transit.

"Governor Hogan threw that away, and instead, has a souped up version of the Charm City Circulator," said Murray.

But some Baltimore leaders are willing to work with the BaltimoreLink plan.

The system is expected to be up and running by June 2017.

There will be public hearings in the near future on the project.